Occupy Harrisburg quietly ends after more than a year of 24/7 protesting

The Occupy Harrisburg group at the state Capitol, the second longest-running Occupy movement in the nation, has left after more than a year of protesting corporate greed, economic inequality and the influence of big business on government.

The tent — which stood in sun, wind, rain and ice at the bottom of the state Capitol steps on North Third Street — is gone. The protesters who held such signs as “Join us. You’re the 99 percent” and “Free Your Mind” are gone.

Protesters stayed at the tent around the clock for nearly a year. While on “duty” in the tent, they didn’t sleep, drink, use drugs or fight. Instead, they protested Wall Street’s role in the financial crisis gripping the nation.

They tried to mobilize everyday citizens against corporate greed and the country’s persistent economic troubles. They cheered for what they called the 99 percent of Americans wrongfully taken advantage of by the richest 1 percent of Americans.

“The Occupy Harrisburg movement succeeded greatly,” said Keith Bentz of Harrisburg on Saturday, one of the movement’s participants. “It raised consciousness of the public. Now the election may have changed a few minds.”

He called the movement a progressive one for true change “beyond the bipolar problem of the Republicans and Democrats. Historically when both sides get stale, a third group sticks its head up. That was the Occupy movement.”

Occupy Harrisburg was an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement that began last fall in New York City and spread throughout the nation. Participants protested Wall Street’s role in the financial crisis and seek to mobilize everyday citizens against corporate greed and the country’s persistent economic troubles.

The local group began its protest a year ago last week as a loose confederation dedicated to change. Members started with one group in a small tent village along the riverfront and another in front of the state Capitol.

Soon, protesters left the tent village and began to occupy a spot at the bottom of the Capitol steps. At first, reporters, photographers, tourists and students frequently visited the white tent. Motorists honked and waved in support. Tourists often took pictures of and with the group.

Eventually, the novelty wore off. The number of college students, union activists and other participants fell off, leaving only a few protesters.

As time went on and other city “Occupy” movements ended, Occupy Harrisburg became the second-longest occupation the nation, behind Fresno, Calif. Â

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